Golfman25

That's why they schedule the games on the west coast (and east cost if you're west coast team) in groups -- so they can stay several days and eliminate the travel back and fourth. Really beneficial for LA as two teams are a short drive from each other.

Stop being so soft. Coaches are hired to get fired. :)

I have zero problem being patient as long as I see a positive trajectory. First positive move I saw was going to Alexis as a starter. Next we'll see if Conerway continues to come off the bench and Dorn starts. Looks like CDD is willing to adapt, which is a good sign. Got to finish strong, though.

Doesn't matter. The BEST coaches adapt to their talent.

The conversation was about the first 5 games of his first season. Goodman thought it would be a tremendous turnaround to go 3-2. Cig had other plans. :) Go look at Aidan Fisher's comments about deciding to come to IU. Cig went thru the schedule with him and told him why they would win each game. The point is Cig expects to win every game, period. Kind of like the old IU basketball days -- winning was expected. None of this, ebb, flow, and bubble BS.

I don't want recruits who "think" they will turn things around. I want guys who know they will and will run thru walls to get the job done. I can guarantee Cig's pitch isn't "you'll be able to turn IU around." :)

Right, but nothing wrong with trying to get back to the "good old days." I listened to Goodman tell a story when he first met Coach Cig. Goodman was telling him that if he started the season 3-2 after the first five game he would be a hero at IU. He said Cig gave him the devil's eye and said no freaking way am I going 3-2. That's what we want -- guys who refuse to lose.

My opinion is much of next season hinges on us getting into the tournament this season. That's an upward trajectory you can sell to recruits -- portal and HS. If we fail to do that, things become A LOT harder.

I guess I am from back in the day when IU didn't have "bad 2-week stretches." Sure a game here or there -- even getting bounced from the tournament first game. But long stretches of bad, nope.

Flawed roster or not, we should have been able to beat Minny and Iowa. We should have been able to close out Nebraska and steal a win from a team way better than us. We stole one from Purdue, but then almost choked it up at UCLA. But in any event, we seem to have it rolling at the moment. Take care of USC and get home and finish strong.

Right, but the question is how often. Sure, any given game can go south, and you strap up and play the next one. But that isn't IU basketball of the recent past. It hasn't been ebbs and flows. It has been tsunamis of bad, followed by some good, just to us to the edge of the tournament.

Squarely? We have a crap load of work to do, startIng with USC on Tuesday.

Lighten up Francis. The thread was started as a “joke” during the Iowa debacle, I think. Nobody is getting fired, but do need to vent a little.

Or the two fouls on Sisley — one on the shot and one to face on the rebound. Terrible officiating

Darn near snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. Need to clean that up. Giant win for us regardless of how it happened. Beat USC Tuesday and we are really back in business and control our destiny. BTW, UCLA is pathetic. Half empty stadium and a tiny leprechaun in a bad suit on the sideline. :)

Head out on the highway.

No they’ll fire the current one and continue to polish the turd. :)

They still have to win games.

Or the tallest midget. :)

Yeah, I would rather "seal it" by beating Wisconsin at home. The other two would just be gravy. :)

No clue about Girls basketball. Closest I ever came was 1986, in speech class when a player gave a speech on why we should care. But, a bad season is a grind. Bad things happen, and worse things happen from there. You begin to question your existence, the meaning of life, and whether you should kick the dog when you get home. She may be burned out. Or she just may be ready for a reset. I suppose only Scott and Pam will know that when the time comes. Good luck to her.

So show me the 3. Why I am saying UCLA and USC are ultra important.

Yeah, but by my count, only 4 Big 10 teams got in that year. Nebraska got jobbed. We won't be anywhere close to top 4/5.

Yeah, I get it -- "on any given Sunday." But we have to face reality. Win now, and our chances become that much easier. Lose now, and that fat lady is warming up.

But there is nothing in our "body of work" that suggests we should get in over any other joe lunch bucket team. That's why, IMO, beating UCLA is a big one. Followed up by beating USC. The rest is just noise.